Extraction shooters have gone mainstream. Much the same way that battle royale games grew out of the survival genre, gaining steam with PUBG before exploding with Fortnite and Warzone, the extraction shooter genre bubbled beneath the surface with titles like Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown, only really finding a crescendo late last year with the release, and overnight success, of ARC Raiders.
All these games can be traced back to one shared ancestor: the DayZ mod for ARMA 2. While battle royale streamlined the concept of last-man-standing, titles like Escape from Tarkov took a different approach: Meaningful persistence and loss. In a battle royale, winning the match is a competitive victory but has no bearing on your loot. In an extraction shooter, you don’t have to “win” a match by killing all the other players, you simply have to extract with your loot, which you can then keep (on loan, as it were, since you’re bound to lose it later).
ARC Raiders added much needed polish and accessibility to the extraction shooter genre, with slick graphics and sound and a solid blend of PvE and PvP. Bungie’s upcoming title, Marathon, hopes to offer players another option, with first-person shooter gunplay and a colorful neon sci-fi world to explore.
Players on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5 can give Marathon a try this weekend for the final beta – aka “Server Slam” – before the game’s launch on March 5th. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming extraction shooter and its free playtest.
What Time Does The ‘Marathon’ Server Slam Begin And End?
The Marathon Server Slam begins on Thursday, February 26th and ends on Monday, March 2nd. The start and end-times are the same both days. Here is when the beta kicks off in your timezone:
- PST — 10:00 AM
- MST — 11:00 AM
- CST — 12:00 PM (noon)
- EST — 1:00 PM
- UTC — 6:00 PM
- GMT/BST — 6:00 PM (London, currently GMT in winter)
- CET — 7:00 PM (Central Europe)
- IST — 11:30 PM (India)
- JST/KST — 3:00 AM +1 day (Japan/Korea)
- AEST — 5:00 AM +1 day (Eastern Australia)
What Content Is Included In The ‘Marathon’ Server Slam?
Marathon takes place in the distant sci-fi world of Tau Ceti IV, a derelict space colony where Runners – the player characters – and hostile UESC security forces roam. The year is 2893, 99 years after the events of the original Marathon game, and hundreds of years since the establishment of the now-dead colony. Players will scavenge across various maps, battling both other players (PvP) and AI enemies (PvE) as they seek better loot and a way to extract, earning cosmetics, seasonal power and more.
Maps will be comprised of futuristic research facilities, lush forests and all sorts of enemies. The planet surface is just the beginning, and players will work their way to the Cryo Archive, the first floor of the UESC Marathon itself, orbiting above.
The Server Slam will not include all the maps and content coming to the main game – this is both a marketing beta and a server stress test – but it should be plenty for a weekend of play. The game will be available to play for free on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5, with crossplay and cross-save enabled. Here’s what’s available during the Server Slam:
- Two Tau Ceti IV zones: Perimeter, an edge-site expansion on the colony’s outskirts; and Dire Marsh, the colony’s agricultural research hub.
- The game has multiple Factions at play, and Contracts for five of these will be available in the beta: CyberAcme, NuCaloric, Traxus, MIDA, and Arachne. Players need to progress in Faction levels to unlock upgrade trees.
- Five of the six Runner shells will be available during the Server Slam, as well as the “free loadout” scavenger Rook.
- Players can play Solo or in duos or Trios, though the game is designed around Trios.
- Proximity chat will be turned on during the Server Slam, allowing players to team up with strangers – if they dare.
At launch, the game will have two more maps – Outpost and Cryo Archive (which launches during Season 1). The sixth Runner Shell, Thief, will also be available at launch but not during the Server Slam.
Ranked mode arrives in Season 1, as well as much more. All told, players will get a large chunk of the full game during the Server Slam.
What Rewards Can Players Earn Playing The ‘Marathon’ Server Slam?
Players can earn a bunch of rewards by playing the Server Slam, which will become available to claim when the game launches on March 5. This is the full list:
Complete your first mission: Unlock the Standard Arrival Cache
- Standard implants (6x)
- Standard Runner shell cores (4x)
- Standard weapon chip mods (6x)
- Weapons: Overrun and Hardline
Reach Runner Level 10: Unlock the Enhanced Arrival Cache (Green)
- Enhanced implants (6x)
- Enhanced Runner shell cores (2x for each shell, 12x total)
- Enhanced weapon chip mods (4x)
- Weapons: Enhanced Magnum and Enhanced Hardline
Reach Runner Level 30: Unlock the Deluxe Arrival Cache (Blue)
- Deluxe and Enhanced implants (3x each, 6x total)
- Deluxe and Enhanced Runner shell cores (1x each for each shell, 12x total)
- Deluxe and Enhanced weapon chip mods (2x each, 4x total)
- Weapons: Deluxe Magnum and Enhanced Volley Rifle
- Backpack: Enhanced Base Backpack
How Will ‘Marathon’ Compare To ‘Arc Raiders?’
It’s hard to say entirely, but as of now Marathon is set to be a more PvP-centered game than Arc Raiders, which has earned a reputation as a rather friendly game compared to many in the genre.
The fact that it’s a first-person shooter instead of third-person is also a major difference. Marathon is also a “hero shooter” with different Runner shells giving players different abilities in-game, whereas Arc Raiders is adopts a classless system.
Another big difference is the Rook. This is the equivalent of a “free loadout” in Arc Raiders, but Rooks cannot play in duos or trios. Rooks also have special stealth abilities.
One huge difference is the temporary nature of loot. While Arc Raiders allows players to go on the Expedition, wiping progress and starting over, Marathon forces this with a full season wipe at the end of each season. Use your loot or lose it, in other words.
The Cryo Archive also adds layers of problem-solving to the game, with true raid-like puzzles and security measures to overcome.
Some Important Notes About The ‘Marathon’ Server Slam
Bungie has not released any preload information, so expect the download to begin once the Server Slam is live. The download itself is not large, just 12-18GB depending on platform, but be sure to get it going as soon as possible.
Bungie also notes that there will likely be server queues due to high demand, and that the game’s servers could be taken offline at any time. Disconnects, error codes and bugs are all expected as the devs work out any last-minute kinks.
As a certified Arc Raiders addict, I’m incredibly hyped for Marathon. It’s great to have real competition, and pretty exciting that we have what looks to be yet another top-notch extraction shooter on our hands. The only question is, where on earth will I find the time?
